Board Meeting Minutes - Wyoming State Board of Nursing

October 22, 23, and 24, 2001 6
education programs. Several visits, which are now past due, were suspended when the MOU
with DOH was not signed.
Motion: A motion was made and seconded, October 23, 2001, to discontinue nurse aide
education program site visits until we are again operating under an MOU with appropriate
funding. The vote on the above decision was 5-0-0-0.
Attorney General:
Proposed AG Opinion Request: Ms. Koski would like to obtain an opinion from the Attorney
General’s office asking if the Board of Nursing is mandated by statute to regulate nurse
aides/certified nurse aides and nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs. Is
the Board mandated and, if so, by what statute? After discussion the Board decided, by
consensus, not to send the request for an opinion.
AG Opinion - Educational Programs and 120 Days for CNAs: A reply (attached), dated July
26, 2001, has been received with the following:
RE: Educational Programs: “The Board of Nursing has the ability to determine the
educational requirements for nursing educations programs, but it may not have the
jurisdiction to control the educational requirements of programs for advanced degrees in
nursing.” Regarding advanced practitioners of nursing, “..the Board’s control in this area is
limited to approving what national certification examination for qualification is permitted.”
RE: 120 days for CNAs: The Board requested clarification on whether a CNA who is
hired and does not obtain their certification within 120 days from first date of hire could be
terminated and then be allowed to rehire and begin their 120 day period to obtain their
certification again. AG response was “ The short answer is no.” Further, 42 U.S.C.A. §
1395i-3(b)(5)(A) was summarized: “This provision clearly sets out that a nurse aid can
work for no longer than four months in a skilled nursing facility unless he or she is declared
competent by the State following the completion of a training and competency evaluation
program.” This four-month provision is reiterated in the Code of Federal Regulations 42
CFR § 483.75(e)(2).
A follow-up AG opinion (attached), dated October 15, 2001, was received, adding that the
Office of Health Quality is also responsible for enforcement of the law.
After review of these documents, the Board is ever mindful of its responsibilities to protect
public safety versus the responsibilities of other agencies who deal with CNAs.
Memo for OHQ: Ms. Kay Wagner, from the Office of Health Quality (OHQ), forwarded a copy
of the AG opinion pertaining to the work practices of CNAs to all health care facility
administrators.
Fingerprint Cards - Name Checks: The Department of Justice Information Services (CJIS)
informed the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation’s State Identification Bureau that they
were implementing new procedures for name check requests. Effective October 5, 2001, the
Division of Criminal Investigation, upon receipt of the second reject notification, will
automatically resubmit the rejected fingerprint card with a request for name search.
Wyoming Professional Assistance Program (WPAP): A letter was forwarded to all facilities in
support of WPAP.
WPAP, through the Medical Board, held a meeting of all the agencies involved with WPAP. WPAP
hired a consultant, Dr. Kent Kneff, to come in and review the program. Dr. Kneff made several